Nigeria votes in tight presidential election

Abuja (AFP) - Nigerians headed to the polls Saturday to elect a new president in the most closely fought election since independence, framed by Boko Haram violence, economic woes and endemic corruption in Africa's most populous nation.

From megacity Lagos and the oil hub of Port Harcourt in the south to Kano and Maiduguri in the restive north, polling stations opened at 0700 GMT, to begin accreditation for voting proper from 1230 GMT.

The late arrival of election officials and materials delayed the process at some polling stations, where thousands of people had begun queueing from the early hours and some slept overnight, AFP reporters said.

Handheld technology to read biometric voter identity cards is being used for the first time, which the country's electoral commission hopes will cut voter fraud.

But confusion arose immediately over the card readers as President Goodluck Jonathan was kept waiting for more than 15 minutes in his hometown because of an apparent malfunction.

Jonathan, wearing his trademark fedora and black suit, stood at a polling station with his wife Patience and his mother in Utuoke, southern Bayelsa state, as officials sought to resolve the problem.

His ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has voiced concerns at the technology, calling it untested, while the main opposition All Progressives Congress (APC) has backed its use.

APC candidate Muhammadu Buhari, turned up in a white robe with a traditional Muslim cap at a polling station in his hometown of Daura, in northern Katsina state and acknowledged that the accreditation process went smoothly.

Fourteen candidates in all are contesting the presidential poll, while 2,537 candidates from 28 parties are vying for 469 seats in the National Assembly at the same time.

- Partisan support -

Jonathan's PDP has been in power since Nigeria returned to civilian rule in 1999 but the result is far from clear this time, with the opposition in its strongest position ever.

The president's inability to tackle Boko Haram -- until recently -- has dominated his tenure and although Nigeria became Africa's largest economy on his watch, global oil shocks have hit the country hard.

election campaign "I cannot recall an election more important than this in the history of our nation," Jonathan said on Thursday.

Chidi Odinkalu, chairman of Nigeria's National Human Rights Commission, said although the election campaign was far from perfect, there were encouraging signs for democracy.

"You cannot sit down now and say General Buhari will win, or President Jonathan will win," he told AFP.

"We are going to have to sit this out and wait and have butterflies in our stomach... and that I think is a wonderful thing."

There was clear evidence of traditional support along regional lines, with Buhari hailing from the mainly Muslim north and Jonathan a son of the largely Christian south.

But political analysts say such backing is far from guaranteed at the election.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on Friday said the stakes were high.

"The international community has high expectations that Nigeria will provide leadership in setting a high standard for this election," Ban said.

The UN team is one of several teams of international observers in Nigeria to ensure a transparent contest after previous polls were marred by widespread rigging and deadly violence.

- Tight security -

Security was tight nationwide, with fears running high of Boko Haram attacks on polling stations and a repeat of poll-related violence that in 2011 saw some 1,000 people killed.

In Lagos -- notorious for its gridlocked traffic -- the streets were all but deserted except for pedestrians as an eight-hour restriction on vehicles kicked in.

Armed soldiers manned checkpoints of tyres and bollards. Not a single vehicle was seen on the 12-kilometre (7.5-mile) Third Mainland Bridge. Shops and businesses were shuttered.

The capital Abuja resembled a ghost town as military helicopters flew overhead.

In the northeast, blighted by six years of Boko Haram violence that has left more than 13,000 people dead and 1.5 million homeless, voting was taking place in and around camps for the displaced.

Civilian vigilantes swept voters in the Borno state capital, Maiduguri, with hand-held metal detectors as a precaution, after a string of suicide attacks on "soft" targets in recent weeks.

Many of the thousands of voters were women widowed by the violence or separated from their husbands.

"I am ready to cast my vote at whatever cost," said Tandalami Balami, who fled the recently liberated town of Gwoza to a camp in Maiduguri.

Khamis Amir, a refugee from Marte on the shores of Lake Chad, added: "I trekked seven miles (11 kilometres) from Njimtilo to vote."